Yevamot 2 – Sister-in-law

In general, a man is prohibited from marrying his sister-in-law, his brother's wife. However, if his brother dies childless, then it is a mitzvah to marry her (and this is called a "yibum") or to formally allow her to go free (and this is called a "chalitzah").

A unique situation arises when a man cannot marry her for a different reason, such as if she is the man's daughter. And, since he cannot marry his daughter and does not even need a chalitzah, the other wives of the deceased brother are also released without a yibum or chalitzah.

Two things require explanation. How can a man's brother be married to his daughter? Should not such a marriage be prohibited? The answer is that there is no prohibition in the Torah to marry one's niece, but one can't marry his aunt. What about the other wives (co-wives)? How is that allowed? The answer here is that a man is permitted many wives by Torah law. The Talmud lists fifteen close relatives of a man he cannot marry and who are thus automatically released from chalitzah or yibum, together with their co-wives.

Today, one cannot marry many wives, and yibum is not allowed, but the chalitzah is still required.

Art: The Two Sisters by August Andreas Jerndorff

Chagigah 27 – During Festivals, all Israel are trusted friends

We mentioned (and this is for the last time in this Tractate) that ignorant people, who are not knowledgeable in the laws of ritual purity, cannot be trusted about it: their garments and vessels are considered impure. However, at the Festivals, this changes, and all are treated as trusted friends ("chaverim"). This is based on the phrase "And all Israel gathered to the city as one, and they were friends" ("chaverim"). and on the custom of all Jews to purify themselves and their utensils for the Festivals.

Because of this unity, one can open a new barrel of wine for sale. It will be considered ritually pure, even though everybody touches it, including ignorant people. He can even finish selling this wine after the holidays – for otherwise, he would refrain from opening it – in Rabbi Yehudah's opinion. However, the Sages don't go that far, and once the holidays are over, the wine is considered impure. Also, once the Holidays are over, all vessels in the Temple are purified. The two Altars, the copper one and the golden one, are never purified in a mikveh, and people are told to be especially careful and not touch them.

On the subject of Altars, Rabbi Abahu gives proof that the Torah Sages are not subject to the fire of Gehinnom, as follows. A salamander (which is created in a fire burning for seven years) is an offspring of fire, and yet a man who smears himself with its blood becomes immune to fire – then how much more so are the Sages, whose body itself is fire! – following the phase, "Here, my words are like fire, says God."

Resh Lakish takes this further. His proof is from the Golden Altar, which had a very thin golden covering, but the underlying wood would not waste away for hundreds of years. How much more so are even the sinners of Israel, for even they are full of mitzvot as pomegranates (following the Song of Sons, "Like a pomegranate are your temples ("rakateich") which can be understood as "reikatech" - the empty ones among you – who are still full of mitzvot.

Art: Still Life Of Pomegranates Upon A Pewter Dish by Juan De Zurbaran

Chagigah 26 – Thieves who repented

We learned before that the ignorant people were not trusted about ritual purity. This leads to a problem: since clay vessels are often used for sacrifices, and since after use they becomes "leftovers" (or "notar") and hence must be broken, and furthermore, since no kilns were permitted in the Jerusalem – people could not obtain clay vessels that would be ritually pure. Therefore, the Sages lifted their distrust of the ignorant, but only under specific circumstances: clay vessels manufactured between Jerusalem and Modiin were declared ritually pure. This was only true for craftsmen in Modiin who were heading toward Jerusalem and not for resellers.

If thieves entered a house and stole earthenware vessels but then returned them – they are believed to say "we did not touch the inside," which would preserve the containers for use with sacrifices. This sounds strange. Thieves are usually ignorant of the details of ritual purity, and if they entered a house, we should presume that every room they had the time to reach should have its vessels impure! – These are exceptional thieves: they repented. Thus, they are believed in the purity of sacrifices also.

Art: The fruit thief by Jean Raoux

Chagigah 25 – Loopholes for the ignorant

We mentioned the five levels of holiness, one stricter than the other. However, we also said that this is sometimes lifted for the sake of the ignorant populace.

For example, when an ignorant farmer brings oil or wine for his sacrifices, they are accepted, even though the vessels in which he brings them are most likely ritually impure. The law is lifted for the following reason: if the ignorant were excluded, they might build their own Temple. There was also a hope that they will be influence by the Temple's holiness for the good. This, however, is a loophole, and to avail of it, the consecration of the wine or oil must occur before the pressing, since this leads the farmer to purify his vessels first.

By contrast, there is no such danger in not accepting a priestly portion (terumah) from them – the ignorant will give it instead to another Kohen, his friend, who is just as ignorant of the law of purity as the giver. Thus, the laws of terumah are stricter here. And yet, this same terumah may be accepted from the ignorant at the general time of wine pressing. This is because knowledgeable people usually supervise the purification of all vessels for harvesting and pressing, and the priests can rely on that. The Sages also did not want the scholarly priest to be entirely left without the priestly portion.

Art: The fine wine by French School

Chagigah 22 – Enmity of the ignorant

Knowledgeable people (called "chaverim," or trusted friends) are subject to fewer regulations than the ignorant (called "am haaretz," or the "people of the land.”) For example, the additional precautions regarding purifying vessels in a mikveh apply only to the ignorant. However, this does not go well with the ignorant and causes their enmity toward the learned.

Here is an example. Holy objects are accepted for sacrifice from the ignorant in the hope that they did prepare them in purity. However, the priest's portion, "terumah," is not accepted by the knowledgeable priests because perhaps the ignorant made it impure by mistake, and it would be forbidden to eat it. This seems illogical. If anything, we should not believe the ignorant about the priest's portion, which is less strict, and not on sacrifices!

Look at consequences, though. If a knowledgeable priest refuses to accept a portion from an ignorant, then the ignorant will be upset, but at worst, he will now go and give his unrequited portion to his ignorant friend priest. However, if the priests do not accept his items for sacrifices, he may go and build himself another Temple – therefore, they accept his oil and wine, presuming them to be pure.

Rabbi Yehoshua could not understand some of the opinions of Beit Shammai regarding ritual purity, and he exclaimed, "You should be ashamed of yourself, the (already dead) Sages of Beit Shammai!" One of the students explained to him the reason related above, about ignorant people not accepting that their utensils were impure, and thus elucidated the logic." As a result, Rabbi Yehoshua fasted many days until his teeth blackened, since he has offended the memory of the Sages wrongly, and Beit Hillel changed their rulings to agree with those of Beit Shammai."

Art: A Barn Interior With A Still Life Of Kitchen Utensils And An Owl, Two Men Beside A Fire Beyond By David The Younger Ryckaert

Chagigah 21 – How is one level of purity different from another?

We mentioned that there are five levels of purity, each one higher than the other. However, this is not mentioned anywhere in the Torah, where a food or a person can by either ritually pure or not. (Even that is not practiced today, when there is no Temple and no ashes of red heifer).

The Sages though instituted those multiple levels of purity, in order to train people in guarding objects from impurity. Holy (sacrifice-related) objects and the priest's portion (terumah) represent the fourth and the third levels of purity. There are ten areas where the purity of holy objects is stricter than those of priest's portion.

For example, when one takes objects to a mikveh to purify them by submersing in its water, he can dip them with one object being inside the other – so long as the water enters into all areas of the object; but this is allowed for priest's portion but not for holy objects. Why? It may happen that one of the objects, the one which is inside the other, is too heavy, and the place of their contact does not admit water. That is not a serious concern though, and the Sages added this only for holy objects.

Art: A personification of Purity by Simone Pignone

Chagigah 20 – Many levels of purity

On the Holidays, there is a special requirement to purify oneself, in general, because one is going to visit the Temple, eat sacrifices, and eat foods of the second tithe, which all require special attention to purity.

However, it is not enough to go to the mikvah, but one also needs to keep in mind why he is going there and keep this in mind consistently. For example, some people would eat their regular food only in a state of purity. And yet, when such a person goes into a mikvah, it is only suitable for everyday foods. He would not be allowed to eat the second tithe. Even though it is the same mikvah and the same person, it is not the same level of attention. Thus, while being "pure for regular food," he may have missed some subtle source of impurity which would prohibit him from eating the second tithe – just because he was not watching for it. There are five such levels: regular foods, second tithe, priestly portion, sacrificial foods, and finally, the ashes of the red heifer.

Examples of these rulings: two women accidentally exchanged their clothing, and even though they each watched them keep them in the state of purity, still Rabbi Akiva declared both sets of clothing impure. Why? As soon as the first woman realized that her dress was on her friend, of whom she was not sure if she knew all the laws – she lost concentration on her clothing, and this moment was enough to distract her, and any time one does not watch explicitly the purity, it is lost.

Another one: a woman asked Rabbi Ishmael a question – she was pure while weaving a garment, but she did not intend to watch the garment. In the course of queries, she recalled that before a significant piece of clothing was formed, she may have made some threads impure at the beginning of weaving. Said Rabbi Ishmael, "How great are the words of the Sages, who said that purity requires concentration."

Art: Women Weaving By Enoch Wood Perry